Keeping Count
by bsgroxmysox
Summary: The first time it happened they laughed it off.


The first time it happened they laughed it off.

Gillian had been staying with Cal and Emily while some renovations were made to her kitchen and living room. No-one could live in a house with that amount of noise or dust.

It was just like any other morning. Emily couldn't find her "casual but fancy" jeans and Cal was useless in helping her. "But they all look the same," he had whined as the 2 women scuttled around him, knee deep in denim.

"Aha!" Gillian had cried out triumphantly raising a pair of jeans, which to Cal, looked exactly like every other pair they had looked at before.

"Excellent, Gill, thank you!" Emily called as she ran to her room to finish getting ready for the day. The next few minutes were filled with last minute schedule checks and confirmations.

"So I'll drop Emily to school and meet you at the office."

"And I'll pick her up afterwards and meet you back here for dinner."

"I swear the sooner we get that car of hers fixed the better." Cal joked just as his daughter joined them in the kitchen again.

"Well if you didn't scare me into hitting that pole none of this would have happened! Come on we're gonna be late. See ya later, Gill."

Emily darted from the house leaving Cal to gather the papers he had been working on and follow her.

"Don't forget we have a meeting with the Mayor at 9.30, please don't be late Cal." Gillian pleaded.

"I have to see my daughter safely to school, love, what would the Mayor think if I abandoned her at the side of the street just to meet with him?"

"Don't sass me, just be there okay?" She stepped closer to him now, wanting him to read how very serious she was about this meeting.

"Okay, okay you win. I'll see you at the office."

They both leaned in at the same time. It was a perfectly natural reaction, both had been married and conversations like these were typical in married life. Discussing school runs or errands that needed to done.

A kiss to seal the deal.

It was merely a touch of the lips, a habit left over from both marriages.

They both stepped back, wide eyed with shock before the laughter took over. Apologies were waved off as they had both leaned in and both had made the mistake. Because that's what it was; a mistake.

Cal left to take Emily to school and was only 10 minutes late for the meeting with the Mayor. And neither one thought anymore about the incident.

* * *

><p>The second time it happened they laughed again, although this time the laughter wasn't natural and the silence that followed was laced with an awkward tension.<p>

It was the last night Gillian was staying with them and Emily had convinced them to watch a movie together. Although the teenager only lasted half way through before her body demanded sleep and Cal had to usher her to bed.

The two adults continued to talk after she left, the movie simply white noise in the background now.

"I swear it was spontaneous combustion. I was nowhere near it when the thing went up in flames!"

Gillian clutched at her side, desperate to stem the pain of laughter caused by Cal's story. It was so rare that he talked about his childhood in London so she relished any opportunity he decided to grant her an anecdote.

"Thank you for that hilarious bedtime story," she gasped when air had finally returned to her lungs. "I needed that." They both stood, clearing away the wine glasses and the now empty popcorn bowl.

"I've got a few things to sort out before I go to bed." Cal said, fighting off a yawn. "You go on, I'll talk to you in the morning."

Gillian frowned and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't work too late, Cal. See you in the morning."

That natural instinct took over them again and they swayed towards each other.

The kiss was not as short or chaste as the first one but it wasn't lust driven either. It had the same motivation as the first incident. Familiarity. This is how two people living together with a teenager in the house behaved.

They chuckled nervously as they backed away from each other. Apologies were mumbled but they weren't heartfelt, both were too busy trying to figure out why this kept happening to them.

Gillian was the first to move. With a whispered, "Goodnight, Cal", she eased passed him and fled to the safety of her bedroom.

* * *

><p>The third time it happened things started to change.<p>

She was adorable when she was drunk. That's all he kept thinking as she swayed in front of him talking about tomorrow. She was right of course (when wasn't she), she did get more beautiful everyday.

She switched off the light on his hat and leaned in to embrace him. His arms slid around her waist and held her to him, lightly swaying them from side to side.

She hummed and he felt it vibrate through him. She was a force to be reckoned with.

"Okay, let's get you home and into bed."

"Hmmm, don't you think you're being a bit presumptuous?" she giggled against his shoulder.

"Ah, are you refusing my advances, Ms. Foster?" he joked in return, jostling her until she raised her head and looked him in the eyes.

"Never."

There was no instinctive reaction. This wasn't something left over from their marriages, a habit that they could laugh about.

Gillian raised herself onto her tip-toes and pressed her lips against his. He couldn't hold back his groan as he felt the length of her body against his, her breasts pressed against his chest and her hands tangled in his hair.

She pounced on the opportunity to deepen the kiss, exploring his mouth with her tongue and it was only then, when the taste of scotch overpowered everything else that he pulled away.

She didn't seem hurt or offended by the abrupt end to their make-out session. She rested her head on his shoulder and let him take her home. At her house she made her way through the new living room and upstairs to collapse on her bed without his help. He merely took a nearby blanket and lay it over her, pausing to kiss her temple before leaving.

* * *

><p>The fourth time it happened was in anger.<p>

She had been silent with him all week and if there was one thing he couldn't stand it was the silent treatment. He could see she was angry, after all that was his job, so why couldn't she just come out and tell him what had made her mad. And more importantly, how he was supposed to fix it.

They were halfway through another one of Loker's frightfully boring presentations when he couldn't take it anymore. They were sitting opposite one another at the table and she had yet to say a word to him or even look at him.

"Are you gonna ignore me forever?"

The room fell silent as all eyes turned to where the outburst had come from. Even the very woman he had accused of ignoring him was now staring at him, eyes wide with shock.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Lightman, I didn't realise you had a question-"

"Not you, Loker." He growled, waving his hand dismissively at the young man. "I was talking to her." His eyes left no doubt who his question was aimed at, they never left Gillian's face.

"Cal," she hissed. "Not here."

She rose from the table and swept from the room, Cal following closely on her heels. She chose to go to his office, which he found strange until she ducked into his private space and indicated at him to close the doors.

The minute the door clicked shut she rounded on him. "How dare you? In front of all our employees...to say something like that...God, Cal, what were you thinking? Were you even thinking?"

He ignored all her questions and instead simply repeated his own in a slow and even tone. "Are you going to ignore me forever, Foster?"

"I'm not ignoring-"

"Don't you lie to me."

The hurt in his voice stopped whatever argument she was ready to make. Obviously she had been practicing her answer, waiting for him to ask this question.

"Cal..." she stopped, not sure exactly where she had been going with that.

"Is it because of that night?" No need to clarify what night. The slight reddening of her cheeks gave her away.

"You're embarrassed." A fact. He didn't need her to confirm it. "Why?"

She shook her head, eyes firmly fixed to the floor. "Don't, Cal, please..."

"Why?" he asked again, stepping into her personal space. He hoped that making her uncomfortable would stop her from finding a way out of this.

"I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"Shouldn't have what, Gill?"

"I shouldn't have thrown myself at you." Her eyes lifted and focused on his. "I made you uncomfortable and I...I'm sorry."

"Uncomfortable? Thrown yourself...Gillian, what are you talking about?"

She scoffed loudly, tossing her head back and crossing her arms in front of herself.

"You pushed me away, Cal. I threw myself at you and you stopped me and I'm sorry. I thought you might have wanted me as much as I..."

She stopped abruptly and her arms tightened around herself.

"You think I don't want you?" Cal whispered in amazement.

"You pushed me away! What am I supposed to think?"

"That you were drunk and I wouldn't have taken advantage of you like that!"

She scoffed again, the noise now becoming more irritating to him.

"You can make all the irritated little noises you want but you know that I couldn't pursue you like that."

"Then how, Cal? How are you going to _pursue_ me as you so eloquently put it? You have yet to make any sort of move so of course I have to come to the conclusion that you don't want me-"

His lips crashed against hers before she even registered that he had moved. His tongue clashed with hers as they both exorcised their pent up frustration into their frantic kiss.

Hands roved freely over bodies until Cal's hands finally tangled in her silky tresses. He slowed the kiss down once he anchored her head to his. Taking it from frenzied to passionate. The kiss tapered to several small ones before they finally broke away from each other.

Cal didn't linger. His hands released their hold on her hair and he stormed out of the office. Gillian collapsed into the nearest chair as her body fought a battle in trying to decide what it wanted to do; cry or smile.

* * *

><p>She didn't know if there would be a fifth time. Sitting in his living room now she relived those moments that led to this, wondering how this moment had snuck up on her.<p>

She had left the office almost immediately after him and headed straight for his house. She had been sitting here since then and it was now after midnight. She had been waiting for six hours.

Emily was in Chicago at the moment so Gillian sat alone in the dimly lit room, hoping and praying he would come through that door soon...alone.

She was just drifting off when she heard the key turn in the lock. He trudged into the room and turned on the main light momentarily blinding her. He didn't look surprised to see her but then again he was so good at hiding things from her she couldn't really tell.

"You went to a bar." She winced at her own words. She had meant to state a fact and instead she sounded as if she was chastising him.

He sighed and flopped into the seat beside her. "Yeah I did. Sat staring at the glass the entire time. Barman eventually kicked me out saying that I was wasting his time."

She gave him a watery smile and slid closer to him. "You paid for it, why not drink it?"

He gazed at her then and smiled. "Because I didn't want anyone to be drunk. Because I want to kiss you again and I don't want you to get the wrong idea because there was some alcohol involved."

She half sobbed, half laughed as she collapsed against him and brought their lips together once more.

This kiss seemed to encompass elements of all of their previous ones. It was familiar, his taste and her taste; it was lust filled; and it was passionate.

Cal pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "No more mistaking this for something else, yeah?" He waited for her to nod. "Good, because I want you, Foster. In the worst possible way."

He swallowed her giggle with the next kiss and the one after that and the one after that and pretty soon, she lost count of the kisses and simply lost herself in the man bestowing them.


End file.
